Connection method, configuration updating method, control plane device, and user plane device

ABSTRACT

Provided are a connection method, a configuration updating method, a control plane device and a user plane device. The method includes: transmitting, by a control plane device, a first request message for establishing a connection to a user plane device, where the first request message for establishing the connection includes information about the control plane device; and transmitting, by the user plane device, a first response message indicating that the connection is successfully established or a first response message indicating that the connection fails to be established to the control plane device, where the first response message indicating that the connection is successfully established includes information about the user plane device, and the first response message indicating that the connection fails to be established includes the information about the user plane device and a reason why the connection fails to be established. Further provided is a storage medium.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 asa continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.16/741,503 filed on Jan. 13, 2020, which is a continuation of PCT PatentApplication No. PCT/CN2018/096513 filed on Jul. 20, 2018, which claimspriority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201710682460.0 filed on Aug.10, 2017, the disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to, but is not limited to, the technicalfield of wireless communications and, in particular, relates to aconnection establishment method, a control plane device and a user planedevice.

BACKGROUND

With the advent of the 5G mobile communication era, massive connectivityhigher data transmission rate requirements pose a great challenge ontransmission capacity of a front haul network interface—a common publicradio interface (CPRI) between a building baseband unit (BBU) and aremote radio unit (RRU) in the long term evolution (LTE) system. Since aCPRI interface transmits in-phase/quadrature (IQ) signals processed byphysical layer encoding and modulation, and a corresponding digital bitstream rate is huge, the CPRI interface has a higher requirement fortransmission latency and bandwidth. When a 5G air interface has anincreased rate of tens of Gbps, the requirement for traffic of the CPRIinterface will reach a Tbps level, which puts tremendous pressure onnetwork deployment costs and difficulties.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a connection method, a configurationupdating method, a control plane device and a user plane device.

Solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure are implementedas described below.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a connection method.The method includes:

-   -   transmitting, by a control plane device, a first request message        for establishing a connection to a user plane device, and the        first request message for establishing the connection includes        information about the control plane device; and    -   transmitting, by the user plane device, a first response message        indicating that the connection is successfully established or a        first response message indicating that the connection fails to        be established to the control plane device, where the first        response message indicating that the connection is successfully        established includes information about the user plane device,        and the first response message indicating that the connection        fails to be established includes the information about the user        plane device and a reason why the connection fails to be        established. An embodiment of the present disclosure further        provides a connection method. The method includes:    -   transmitting, by a user plane device, a second request message        for establishing a connection to a control plane device, where        the second request message for establishing the connection        includes information about the user plane device; and    -   transmitting, by the control plane device, a second response        message indicating that the connection is successfully        established or a second response message indicating that the        connection fails to be established to the user plane device,        where the second response message indicating that the connection        is successfully established includes information about the        control plane device, and the second response message indicating        that the connection fails to be established includes the        information about the control plane device and a reason why the        connection fails to be established.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a configurationupdating method. The method includes:

-   -   transmitting, by a user plane device, a capacity updating        message, to a control plane device, where the capacity updating        message includes information about the user plane device;    -   transmitting, by the control plane device, a capacity updating        acknowledgement message or a capacity updating failure message        to the user plane device, the capacity updating acknowledgement        message includes information about the control plane device, the        capacity updating failure message includes the information about        the control plane device and a reason why the capacity updating        fails.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a control planedevice. The control plane device includes a processor, a memory and acommunication bus.

The communication bus is configured to implement connectioncommunication between the processor and the memory.

The processor is configured to execute a connection program stored inthe memory to implement the following steps:

-   -   transmitting a first request message for establishing a        connection to a user plane device, where the first request        message for establishing a connection includes information about        the control plane device;    -   receiving a first response message indicating that the        connection is successfully established or a first response        message indicating that the connection fails to be established        from the user plane device, where the first response message        indicating that the connection is successfully established        includes information about the user plane device, and the first        response message indicating that the connection fails to be        established includes the information about the user plane device        and a reason why the connection fails to be established.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a user planedevice. The user plane device includes a processor, a memory and acommunication bus.

The communication bus is configured to implement connectioncommunication between the processor and the memory.

The processor is configured to execute a connection program stored inthe memory to implement the following steps:

-   -   transmitting a second request message for establishing a        connection to a control plane device, where the second request        message for establishing a connection includes information about        the user plane device;    -   receiving a second response message indicating that the        connection is successfully established or a second response        message indicating that the connection fails to be established        from the control plane device, where the second response message        indicating that the connection is successfully established        includes information about the control plane device, and the        second response message indicating that the connection fails to        be established includes the information about the control plane        device and a reason why the connection fails to be established.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a user planedevice. The user plane device includes a processor, a memory and acommunication bus.

The communication bus is configured to implement connectioncommunication between the processor and the memory.

The processor is configured to execute a connection program stored inthe memory to implement the following steps:

-   -   transmitting a capacity updating message to a control plane        device, where the capacity updating message includes information        about the user plane device;    -   receiving a capacity updating acknowledgement message or a        capacity updating failure message from the control plane device,        the capacity updating acknowledgement message includes        information about the control plane device, the capacity        updating failure message includes the information about the        control plane device and a reason why the capacity updating        fails.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer storagemedium. The computer storage medium is further configured to storecomputer-executable instructions, where, after being executed, thecomputer-executable instructions are capable of implementing theconnection method or configuration updating method provided by one ormore of technical solutions described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are used to provide a furtherunderstanding of the present disclosure, and form a part of the presentapplication. The exemplary embodiments and descriptions thereof in thepresent disclosure are used to explain the present disclosure and do notlimit the present disclosure in any improper way. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram illustrating an interface between a firstnetwork element and a second network element in a 5G NR system;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a connection method according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a connection method according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a configuration updating method according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram illustrating a control plane deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram illustrating a user plane deviceaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram illustrating a user plane deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a structural diagram illustrating interfaces between a controlplane device, a user plane device and a second network element accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a request, initiated by a controlplane device, for establishing a connection with a user plane deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a request, initiated by a user planedevice, for establishing a connection with a control plane deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a configuration updating requestinitiated by a user plane device according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosurewill be clearer from a detailed description of embodiments of thepresent disclosure in conjunction with the drawings. It is to be notedthat if not in collision, the embodiments and features therein in thepresent disclosure may be combined with each other.

In the 5G new radio (NR) system, the division of a front haul networkinterface needs to be redefined by comprehensively considering fromtransmission capacity, transmission latency, and deployment convenience.As shown in FIG. 1, in an non-ideal fronthaul network transmission, alatency-insensitive network function is placed in a first networkelement (e.g., a centralized unit (CU)), and a latency-sensitive networkfunction is placed in a second network element (e.g., a distributed unit(DU)). The first network element and the second network element performtransmission through an ideal and/or non-ideal fronthaul network.

The 5G user service and the unbalanced user service physicaldistribution required by the different quality of service (QoS) havedifferent requirements for network deployment and data transmissionperformance of the 5G network. These data services with different typesare often interleaved, or exploded at a local hotspot area, so that thecurrent relatively closed network architecture is unable to efficientlysupport various 5G communication scenarios. Although control plane (CP)and user plane (UP) function sets in the existing first network elementare already divided by a logical layer, they are physically integratedin a single network element. Therefore, on the basis of the division ofthe first network element and the second network element, the CP and theUP in the first network element are further physically divided bycomprehensively considering from the transmission latency, loadbalancing, multi-manufacturer device interoperability and deploymentcost, so that the CP and the UP is able to be deployed in differentgeographical positions, configured independently, and carried outresource expansion and function upgrading, thereby more flexibly andefficiently satisfying requirements of various 5G services.

From the perspective of deployment positions, a CP entity is able to bedeployed in a network central office, such as a CU entity, multiple UPentities are managed in the district, and service load among the UPentities is efficiently coordinated to achieve a purpose of loadbalancing, also, the CP entity is able to be deployed at a positionclose to the DU entity on the edge of the network according to therequirements, so that signaling interaction latency of a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) control plane is able to be greatly reduced, fullysatisfying requirements of low-latency services such as ultra-reliableand low latency communications (URLLC).

From the perspective of the operator, separation of the CP and the UP isable to construct a more flexible and efficient network deployment mode,which can further reduce the deployment cost while enhancing the networkperformance. Meanwhile, physical separation of the CP and the UP as wellas the standardization of related interfaces greatly enhance theinteroperability between the CP and UP devices, making it possible forCP entities and UP entities to adopt devices of different manufacturers,and also being beneficial for operators to further reduce the purchasecost of 5G infrastructure.

From the perspective of air interface user plane division, the CP entityincludes RRC and a packet data convergence protocol-control (PDCP-C)processing layer for control plane signaling, and the UP entity includesa Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) and a packet data convergenceprotocol-user (PDCP-U) user plane data. A many-to-many mappingconnection mode is able to be adopted between the CP and the UP, one CPcan simultaneously manage multiple UPs, and resources provided by one UPcan be shared by multiple CPs. Since many-to-many connectionrelationship exists between the CP and the UP, on one hand, how toimplement establishment and configuration updating of the interfacebetween the CP and the UP, such as by means of an operationadministration and maintenance (OAM) platform or a network element otherthan the OAM platform, is not regulated in the existing art, and on theother hand, how to reduce signaling overhead and latency as much aspossible and reduce the load of the front haul interface caused by largesignaling overhead. In view of this, in the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, in a process of establishing the connection between the CPand the UP that are separated from each other, information of the CP andthe UP will be carried. For example, the CP carries information aboutthe control plane device of its own in a connection establishmentrequest message. The information about the control plane device mayinclude information about the user plane device for establishing theconnection between the CU and the UP, also may include user planeequipment information not used for establishing the connection betweenthe CU and the UP at this time. In this way, on one hand, theinformation about the user plane device may be used for the connectionestablishment or may not be used for the connection establishment. Butafter the CP knows the information about the user plane device of theUP, service data transmission of the UP plane may be controlled. Forexample, user plane control information may include: a UP ID that can beused for connection establishment between the CP and the UP, and alsomay include: UP bearer attributes (for example, whether the UP supportduplication bearer capacity information, whether the UP support spiltbearer capacity information, whether the UP support radio packet dataconvergence protocol capacity), in this way, the CP can subsequentlyselect service data that the CP may realize for the UP to bear and/ortransmit according to these capacities. In this way, in the connectionestablishment request message, connection establishment response message(including a connection establishment failure response and a connectionestablishment success response), a capacity updating message, a capacityupdating acknowledgment message or a capacity updating failure messageused for the connection establishment or capacity updating, theinformation about the control plane device and the information about theuser plane device are borne, implementing that one message bearsmultiple pieces of information. Compared with a dedicate signalingrespectively transmitting connection establishment or capacity updating,and interactively controlling the information about the control planedevice and the information about the user plane device, the signalingoverhead is reduced, and the interaction of the information about thecontrol plane device and the information about the user plane devicethat may be subsequently used during the connection establishment iscompleted. Therefore, when the message needs to be used, dedicaterequests are not needed, and the latency for acquiring the informationabout the control plane device and the information about the user planedevice is reduced. In addition, the CP or the UP has been performed onthe configuration updating, which may in the CP and the UP configurationupdating process through the capacity updating information synchronouslyenable the CP or the UP to be informed of the updated information aboutthe control plane device and the information about the user plane devicein time to reduce subsequent usage latency. So the solutions provided bythe present disclosure have a small signaling overhead, and small usagelatency of the control device information and the information about theuser plane device.

As shown in FIG. 2, a connection method of the present disclosure mayinclude steps described below.

In step 201, a control plane device transmits a first request messagefor establishing a connection to a user plane device, and the firstrequest message for establishing a connection includes information aboutthe control plane device.

It is to be noted that before the step 201 the method further includesthat:

-   -   the control plane device and the user plane device respectively        acquire their own configuration information from an operation        management maintenance platform, the configuration information        of the control plane device includes the information about the        control plane device; and the configuration information of the        user plane device includes information about the user plane        device.

In some embodiments, the information about the control plane deviceincludes any one of or a combination of:

-   -   an identification (ID) of the control plane device; and    -   information about one or more internet protocol (IP) addresses        for establishing an interface by the control plane device with        the user plane device.

In some embodiments, the information about the user plane deviceincludes any one of or a combination of:

-   -   an ID of the user plane device;    -   information about one or more IP addresses for establishing an        interface by the user plane device with the control plane        device; and    -   capacity information of the user plane device.

In some embodiments, the capacity information of the user plane deviceincludes any one of or a combination of:

-   -   bandwidth information of the user plane device;    -   a maximum number of UEs supported by the user plane device; and    -   a maximum number of distributed processing units supported by        the user plane device.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the bandwidth informationof the user plane device includes information about data rate andfrequency band bandwidth supported by the user plane device.

In some embodiments, the capacity information of the user plane devicefurther includes any one of or a combination of:

-   -   information about distributed processing units connected to the        user plane device;    -   information about control plane devices connected to the user        plane device;    -   configuration information about public land mobile network        (PLMN) supported by the user plane device;    -   configuration information about network slice supported by the        user plane device;    -   version number information of a packet data convergence protocol        for user plane data and a simple DFS access protocol supported        by the user plane device; and    -   information about secure processing capacity supported by the        user plane device.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the information aboutcontrol plane devices connected to the user plane device includes anyone of or a combination of: a list of control plane devices connected tothe user plane device, and connection attribute information between theuser plane devices and each control plane device.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the information aboutdistributed processing units connected to the user plane device includesa list of distributed processing units connected to the user planedevice and connection attribute information between the user planedevice and each distributed processing unit.

In some embodiments, the connection attribute information includes anyone of or a combination of:

-   -   a connection bandwidth;    -   a supported rate; and    -   a connection delay.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the configurationinformation about the PLMN supported by the user plane device includestype information about the PLMN supported by the user plane device andresource quota information occupied by each PLMN type.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the configurationinformation about the slice supported by the user plane device includestype information about the slice supported by the user plane device andresource quota information occupied by each slice type.

In some embodiments, the information about secure processing capacitysupported by the user plane device includes, but not limited to,information of an encryption algorithm, an integrity protectionalgorithm and a header compression algorithm supported by the user planedevice.

The capacity information of the user plane device further includesinformation about functions supported by the user plane device, theinformation about functions includes any one of or a combination of thefollowing:

-   -   information regarding whether duplication bearer is supported;    -   information regarding whether split bearer is supported;    -   information regarding whether secondary cell group (SCG) split        bearer is supported;    -   information about supported radio access technology (RAT) type;    -   information regarding whether NR PDCP is supported; and    -   information regarding whether jumbo frame is supported.

In step 202, the user plane device transmits a first response messageindicating that the connection is successfully established or a firstresponse message indicating that the connection fails to be establishedto the control plane device, where the first response message indicatingthat the connection is successfully established includes informationabout the user plane device, and the first response message indicatingthat the connection fails to be established includes the informationabout the user plane device and a reason why the connection fails to beestablished.

As shown in FIG. 3, a connection method of the present disclosure mayinclude steps described below.

In step 301, a user plane device transmits a second request message forestablishing a connection to a control plane device, where the secondrequest message for establishing the connection includes informationabout the user plane device.

It is to be noted that before the step 301 the method further includesthat:

-   -   the control plane device and the user plane device respectively        acquire their own configuration information from an operation        management maintenance platform, the configuration information        of the control plane device includes information about the        control plane device; and the configuration information of the        user plane device includes information about the user plane        device.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the control planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the user planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In step 302, the control plane device transmits a second responsemessage indicating that the connection is successfully established or asecond response message indicating that the connection fails to beestablished to the user plane device, where the second response messageindicating that the connection is successfully established includesinformation about the control plane device, and the second responsemessage indicating that the connection fails to be established includesthe information about the control plane device and a reason why theconnection fails to be established.

As shown in FIG. 4, a configuration updating method of the presentdisclosure may include steps described below.

In step 401, a user plane device transmits a capacity updating messageto a control plane device, where the capacity updating message includesinformation about the user plane device.

It is to be noted that before step 401 the method further includes that:

-   -   the control plane device and the user plane device respectively        acquire their own configuration information from an operation        management maintenance platform, the configuration information        of the control plane device includes information about the        control plane device; and the configuration information of the        user plane device includes information about the user plane        device; and    -   a connection is established between the control plane device and        the user plane device (a request for establishing a connection        may be initiated by the control plane device or the user plane        device).

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the control planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the user planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In step 402, the control plane device transmits a capacity updatingacknowledgement message or a capacity updating failure message to theuser plane device, the capacity updating acknowledgement messageincludes information about the control plane device, the capacityupdating failure message includes the information about the controlplane device and a reason why the capacity updating fails.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a connectionmethod. The method includes:

-   -   transmitting, by a control plane device, a first request message        for establishing a connection to a user plane device, and the        first request message for establishing the connection includes        information about the control plane device; and    -   receiving, by the control plane device, a first response message        indicating that the connection is successfully established or a        first response message indicating that the connection fails to        be established from the user plane device, where the first        response message indicating that the connection is successfully        established includes information about the user plane device,        and the first response message indicating that the connection        fails to be established includes the information about the user        plane device and a reason why the connection fails to be        established.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the control planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the user planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a connectionmethod. The method includes:

-   -   transmitting, by a user plane device, a second request message        for establishing a connection to a control plane device, where        the second request message for establishing the connection        includes information about the user plane device; and    -   receiving, by the user plane device, a second response message        indicating that the connection is successfully established or a        second response message indicating that the connection fails to        be established from the control plane device, where the second        response message indicating that the connection is successfully        established includes information about the control plane device,        and the second response message indicating that the connection        fails to be established includes the information about the        control plane device and a reason why the connection fails to be        established.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the control planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the user planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a configurationupdating method. The method includes:

-   -   transmitting, by a user plane device, a capacity updating        message, to a control plane device, where the capacity updating        message includes information about the user plane device;    -   receiving, by the user plane device, a capacity updating        acknowledgement message or a capacity updating failure message        from the control plane device, the capacity updating        acknowledgement message includes information about the control        plane device, the capacity updating failure message includes the        information about the control plane device and a reason why the        capacity updating fails.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the control planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the user planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a control planedevice. The control plane device includes a processor, a memory and acommunication bus.

The communication bus is configured to implement connectioncommunication between the processor and the memory.

The processor is configured to execute a connection program stored inthe memory to implement the following steps:

-   -   transmitting a first request message for establishing a        connection to a user plane device, where the first request        message for establishing the connection includes information        about the control plane device; and    -   receiving a first response message indicating that the        connection is successfully established or a first response        message indicating that the connection fails to be established        from the user plane device, where the first response message        indicating that the connection is successfully established        includes information about the user plane device, and the first        response message indicating that the connection fails to be        established includes the information about the user plane device        and a reason why the connection fails to be established.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the control planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the user planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a user planedevice. The user plane device includes a processor, a memory and acommunication bus. The communication bus is configured to implementconnection communication between the processor and the memory.

The processor is configured to execute a connection program stored inthe memory to implement the following steps:

-   -   transmitting a second request message for establishing a        connection to a control plane device, where the second request        message for establishing the connection includes information        about the user plane device; and    -   receiving a second response message indicating that the        connection is successfully established or a second response        message indicating that the connection fails to be established        from the control plane device, where the second response message        indicating that the connection is successfully established        includes information about the control plane device, and the        second response message indicating that the connection fails to        be established includes the information about the control plane        device and a reason why the connection fails to be established.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the control planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the user planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a user planedevice. The user plane device includes a processor, a memory and acommunication bus.

The communication bus is configured to implement connectioncommunication between the processor and the memory.

The processor is configured to execute a connection program stored inthe memory to implement the following steps:

-   -   transmitting a capacity updating message to a control plane        device, where the capacity updating message includes information        about the user plane device; and    -   receiving a capacity updating acknowledgement message or a        capacity updating failure message from the control plane device,        the capacity updating acknowledgement message includes        information about the control plane device, the capacity        updating failure message includes the information about the        control plane device and a reason why the capacity updating        fails.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the control planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the user planedevice are the same as that described in step 201, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

As shown in FIG. 5, an embodiment of the present disclosure furtherprovides a control plane device. The control plane device includes afirst transmission unit 501 and a first reception unit 502.

The first transmission unit 501 is configured to transmit a firstrequest message for establishing a connection to a user plane device,where the first request message for establishing the connection includesinformation about the control plane device.

The first reception unit 502 is configured to receive a first responsemessage indicating that the connection is successfully established or afirst response message indicating that the connection fails to beestablished from the user plane device, where the first response messageindicating that the connection is successfully established includesinformation about the user plane device, and the first response messageindicating that the connection fails to be established includes theinformation about the user plane device and a reason why the connectionfails to be established.

In some embodiments, the first reception unit 502 is further configuredto:

-   -   acquire configuration information about the control plane device        from an operation management maintenance platform, the        configuration information about the control plane device        includes information about the control plane device.

In some embodiments, the information about the control plane deviceincludes any one of or a combination of:

-   -   an ID of the control plane device; and    -   information about one or more IP addresses for establishing an        interface by the user plane device with the control plane        device.

In some embodiments, the information about the user plane deviceincludes any one of or a combination of:

-   -   an ID of the user plane device;    -   information about one or more IP addresses for establishing an        interface by the user plane device with the control plane        device; and    -   capacity information of the user plane device.

In some embodiments, the capacity information of the user plane deviceincludes any one of or a combination of:

-   -   bandwidth information of the user plane device;    -   a maximum number of UEs supported by the user plane device; and    -   a maximum number of distributed processing units supported by        the user plane device.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the bandwidth informationof the user plane device includes information about data rate andfrequency band bandwidth supported by the user plane device.

In some embodiments, the capacity information of the user plane deviceincludes any one of or a combination of:

-   -   information about distributed processing units connected to the        user plane device;    -   information about control plane devices connected to the user        plane device;.    -   configuration information about the PLMN supported by the user        plane device;    -   configuration information about the slice supported by the user        plane device;    -   version number information of a PDCP for user plane data and a        SDAP supported by the user plane device; and    -   information about secure processing capacity supported by the        user plane device.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the information about thecontrol plane device connected to the user plane device includes atleast one of: a list of control plane devices connected to the userplane device, and connection attribute information between the userplane device and each control plane device.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the information aboutdistributed processing units connected to the user plane device includesa list of distributed processing units connected to the user planedevice and connection attribute information between the user planedevice and each distributed processing unit.

In some embodiments, the connection attribute information includes anyone of or a combination of:

-   -   a connection bandwidth;    -   a supported rate; and    -   a connection delay.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the configurationinformation about the PLMN supported by the user plane device includesType information about the PLMN supported by the user plane device andresource quota information occupied by each PLMN type.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the configurationinformation about the slice supported by the user plane device includestype information about the slice supported by the user plane device andresource quota information occupied by each slice type.

In some embodiments, the information about secure processing capacitysupported by the user plane device includes, but not limited to,information of an encryption algorithm, an integrity protectionalgorithm and a header compression algorithm supported by the user planedevice.

In some embodiments, the capacity information of the user plane devicefurther includes information about functions supported by the user planedevice, the information about functions includes any one of or acombination of:

-   -   information regarding whether duplication bearer is supported;    -   information regarding whether split bearer is supported;    -   information regarding whether SCG split bearer is supported;    -   type information of supported RAT;    -   information regarding whether NR PDCP is supported; and    -   information regarding whether jumbo frame is supported.

As shown in FIG. 6, an embodiment of the present disclosure furtherprovides a user plane device.

The user plane device includes a second transmission unit 601 and asecond reception unit 602.

The second transmission unit 601 is configured to transmit a secondrequest message for establishing a connection to a control plane device,where the second request message for establishing the connectionincludes information about the user plane device;

The second reception unit 602 is configured to receive a second responsemessage indicating that the connection is successfully established or asecond response message indicating that the connection fails to beestablished from the control plane device, where the second responsemessage indicating that the connection is successfully establishedincludes information about the control plane device, and the secondresponse message indicating that the connection fails to be establishedincludes the information about the control plane device and a reason whythe connection fails to be established.

It is to be noted that the second reception unit 602 is furtherconfigured to:

-   -   acquire configuration information of the user plane device from        an operation management maintenance platform, the configuration        information of the user plane device includes information about        the user plane device.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the control planedevice are the same as that described above, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the user planedevice are the same as that described above, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

As shown in FIG. 7, the present disclosure further provides a user planedevice. The user plane device includes a third transmission unit 701 anda third reception unit 702.

The third transmission unit 702 is configured to transmit a capacityupdating message to a control plane device, where the capacity updatingmessage includes information about the user plane device.

The third reception unit 702 is configured to receive a capacityupdating acknowledgement message or a capacity updating failure messagefrom the control plane device, the capacity updating acknowledgementmessage includes information about the control plane device, thecapacity updating failure message includes the information about thecontrol plane device and a reason why the capacity updating fails.

It is to be noted that the third transmission unit 701 is configured totransmit a second request message for establishing a connection to thecontrol plane device, where the second request message for establishingthe connection includes information about the user plane device.

The third reception unit 702 is further configured to acquireconfiguration information of the user plane device from an operationmanagement maintenance platform, the configuration information of theuser plane device includes information about the user plane device;receive a second response message indicating that the connection issuccessfully established or a second response message indicating thatthe connection fails to be established from the control plane device,where the second response message indicating that the connection issuccessfully established includes information about the control planedevice, and the second response message indicating that the connectionfails to be established includes the information about the control planedevice and a reason why the connection fails to be established.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the control planedevice are the same as that described above, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

In some embodiments, contents of the information about the user planedevice are the same as that described above, and thus will not bedescribed herein.

The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide severalexamples to further explain the present disclosure. It is to be notedthat the examples are just better illustrate the present disclosure anddo not limit the present disclosure in any improper way. The followingembodiments are disposed separately, and technical features of differentembodiments may be combined into one embodiment for joint use. Names ofthe first request message for establishing a connection, the secondrequest message for establishing a connection, the first responsemessage indicating that the connection is successfully established, thefirst response message indicating that the connection fails to beestablished, the second response message indicating that the connectionis successfully established, the second response message indicating thatthe connection fails to be established, the capacity updating message,the capacity updating acknowledgment message or the capacity updatingfailure message may be changed without affecting the implementation ofthe method in the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a structural diagram illustrating interfaces between a controlplane device (CP) of a first network element, a user plane device (UP)of the first network element and a second network element according toan embodiment of the present disclosure. The CP and UP are respectivelylocated in two different CUs of the first network element, implementingthe separation of user plane data and control plane data. For ease ofdescription, an interface between the CP device of the first networkelement and the second network element is an F1-C interface, aninterface between the UP device of the first network element and thesecond network element is an F1-U interface, an interface between the CPand the UP is an El interface.

Example 1

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a request, initiated by a CP, forestablishing a connection with a UP according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

The direction of a first request message for establishing a connectionis CP−>UP.

A source CP transmits the first request message for establishing theconnection to the UP, the message includes, but is not limited to thefollowing:

-   -   identification information of the source CP.

The direction of a first response message indicating that the connectionis successfully established is UP−>CP.

After receiving the first request message for establishing theconnection from the CP, a target UP transmits the first response messageindicating that the connection is successfully established to the CP,the message includes, but is not limited to the following:

-   -   identification information of the target UP; and    -   capacity information of the target UP.

The capacity information of the UP includes, but is not limited to thefollowing:

-   -   bandwidth information of the UP;    -   a maximum number of UEs supported by the UP;    -   a maximum number of DUs supported by the UP;    -   a list of DUs connected to the UP and connection attribute        information between the target UP and each DU, which includes,        but is not limited to information such as latency and bandwidth.    -   a list of CPs connected to the UP and connection attribute        information between the target UP and each CP, which includes,        but is not limited to information such as latency and bandwidth;    -   configuration information related to the PLMN supported by the        UP, the information includes, but not limited to: type        information of the PLMN and resource quota information occupied        by each PLMN;    -   configuration information related to the slice supported by the        UP, the information includes, but not limited to: type        information of a slice and resource quota information occupied        by each slice;    -   version number information of a PDCP-U and a SDAP supported by        the UP;    -   secure processing capacity supported by the UP, the secure        processing capacity includes, but not limited to information of        an encryption algorithm, an integrity protection algorithm and a        header compression algorithm;    -   support information for other optional functions, the support        information includes, but not limited to, information regarding        whether duplication bearer is supported.

The direction of the first response message indicating that theconnection fails to be established is UP−>CP.

After receiving the first request message for establishing theconnection from the CP, the target UP transmits the first responsemessage indicating that the connection fails to be established to theCP, the message includes, but is not limited to the following:

IP address information of the target UP; and

-   -   a failure reason.

Example 2

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a request, initiated by a UP, forestablishing a connection with a CP according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

The direction of the second request message for establishing theconnection is UP−>CP.

A source UP transmits the second request message for establishing theconnection to the CP, the message includes, but is not limited to thefollowing:

-   -   identification information of the source UP; and    -   capacity information of the source UP.

The capacity information of the UP includes, but is not limited to thefollowing:

-   -   bandwidth information of the UP;    -   a maximum number of UEs supported by the UP;    -   a maximum number of DUs supported by the UP;    -   a list of DUs connected to the UP and connection attribute        information between the source UP and each DU, which includes,        but is not limited to information such as latency and bandwidth.    -   a list of CPs connected to the UP and connection attribute        information between the source UP and each CP, which includes,        but is not limited to information such as latency and bandwidth;    -   configuration information related to the PLMN supported by the        UP, the information includes, but not limited to: type        information of the PLMN and resource quota information occupied        by each PLMN;    -   configuration information related to the slice supported by the        UP, the information includes, but not limited to: type        information of the slice and resource quota information occupied        by each slice;    -   version number information of a PDCP-U and a SDAP supported by        the UP;    -   secure processing capacity supported by the UP, the secure        processing capacity includes, but not limited to information of        an encryption algorithm, an integrity protection algorithm and a        header compression algorithm;    -   support information for other optional functions, the support        information includes, but not limited to, information regarding        whether duplication bearer is supported.

The direction of the second response message indicating that theconnection is successfully established is CP−>UP.

After receiving the second request message for establishing theconnection from the UP, the target CP transmits the second responsemessage indicating that the connection is successfully established tothe UP, the message includes, but is not limited to the following:

-   -   identification information of the target CP;

The direction of the second response message indicating that theconnection fails to be established is CP−>UP.

After receiving the second request message for establishing theconnection from the UP, the target

CP transmits the second response message indicating that the connectionfails to be established to the UP, the message includes, but is notlimited to the following:

-   -   identification information of the target CP; and    -   a failure reason.

Example 3

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating configuration updating of UPimplemented between a CP and the UP according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

The direction of a capacity updating message is UP−>CP.

When interface configuration updating is needed, a source UP transmits acapacity updating message to all CPs in the list of CPs currentlyconnected to the source UP, the message includes but is not limited tothe following:

-   -   identification information of the source UP; and    -   capacity updating information updated of the source UP;

The capacity updating information of the UP includes, but is not limitedto the following:

-   -   bandwidth information of the source UP;    -   a maximum number of UEs supported by the source UP;    -   a maximum number of DUs supported by the source UP;    -   a list of DUs connected to the source UP and connection        attribute information between the source UP and each DU, which        includes, but is not limited to information such as latency and        bandwidth;    -   a list of CPs connected to the source UP and connection        attribute information between the source UP and each CP, which        includes, but is not limited to information such as latency and        bandwidth;    -   configuration information related to the PLMN supported by the        source UP, the information includes, but not limited to: type        information of the PLMN and resource quota information occupied        by each PLMN;    -   configuration information related to the slice supported by the        source UP, the information includes, but not limited to: type        information of the slice and resource quota information occupied        by each slice;    -   version number information of a PDCP-U and a SDAP supported by        the source UP;    -   secure processing capacity supported by the source UP, the        secure processing capacity includes, but not limited to        information of an encryption algorithm, an integrity protection        algorithm and a header compression algorithm;    -   support information for other optional functions, the support        information includes, but not limited to, information regarding        whether duplication bearer is supported.

The direction of a capacity updating acknowledgement message is CP−>UP.

After receiving the capacity updating message from the UP, the target CPtransmits the capacity updating acknowledgment message to the UP, themessage includes, but is not limited to the following:

-   -   identification information of the target CP;

The direction of a capacity updating failure message is CP−>UP.

After a target CP receives the capacity updating message from the UP,transmits the capacity updating failure message to the UP, the messageincludes, but is not limited to the following:

-   -   identification information of the target CP;    -   a failure reason.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer storagemedium. The computer storage medium is further configured to storecomputer-executable instructions, where, after being executed, thecomputer-executable instructions are capable of implementing theconnection method or configuration updating method provided by one ormore of technical solutions described above.

The computer storage medium provided by this embodiment may be varioustypes of storage mediums, such as a read only storage medium, a flashmemory and a random storage medium. In some embodiments, the storagemedium may include a non-transitory storage medium.

In the present disclosure, the features of the various embodiments, ifnot in collision, may be combined with each other. Each embodiment isonly an optimal implementation mode of the present disclosure, and isnot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that all orpart of the steps in the method described above may be implemented byrelated hardware instructed by one or more programs, and these programsmay be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a ROM, amagnetic disk, an optical disk or the like. Optionally, all or part ofthe steps in the embodiments described above may also be implemented byusing one or more integrated circuits. Accordingly, the modules/units inthe embodiments described above may be implemented by a hardware or asoftware function module. The present disclosure is not limited to anyspecific combination of hardware and software.

The above are only examples of the present disclosure and are notintended to limit the present disclosure, and for those skilled in theart, the present disclosure may have various modifications andvariations. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvementsand the like made within the spirit and principle of the presentdisclosure fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A connection method, comprising: transmitting, bya control plane of a centralized unit, a request message forestablishing a connection to a user plane of the centralized unit,wherein the request message comprises first information corresponding tothe control plane; and receiving, by the control plane from the userplane, a response message indicating that the connection has beensuccessfully established, wherein the response message comprises secondinformation corresponding to the user plane, the second informationincluding: configuration information about a public land mobile networksupported by the user plane; and configuration information about anetwork slice supported by the user plane.
 2. The connection method ofclaim 1, wherein the first information corresponding to the controlplane comprises: an identification (ID) of the control plane.
 3. Theconnection method of claim 1, wherein the response message indicatesthat the connection fails to be established, the response messagecomprising third information of a reason why the connection fails to beestablished.
 4. The connection method of claim 1, wherein the secondinformation corresponding to the user plane further comprises:information regarding whether duplication bearer capacity is supported;information regarding whether split bearer capacity is supported;information regarding whether split bearer capacity of a secondary cellgroup is supported; type information of supported radio accesstechnology; information regarding whether new radio packet dataconvergence protocol capacity is supported; and information regardingwhether jumbo frame is supported.
 5. The connection method of claim 1,wherein the second information corresponding to the user plane furthercomprises: bandwidth information of the user plane; a maximum number ofuser equipment (UE) devices supported by the user plane; and a maximumnumber of distributed units supported by the user plane, the distributedunits corresponding to the centralized unit.
 6. The connection method ofclaim 5, the bandwidth information of the user plane comprisesinformation about data rate and frequency band bandwidth supported bythe user plane.
 7. A connection method, comprising: transmitting, by auser plane of a centralized unit, a request message for establishing aconnection to a control plane of the centralized unit, wherein therequest message comprises first information corresponding to the userplane; receiving, by the user plane from the control plane, a responsemessage indicating that the connection has been successfullyestablished, wherein the response message comprises second informationcorresponding to the control plane, the second information including anidentification (ID) of the control plane; transmitting, by the userplane, a capacity updating message to the control plane, wherein thecapacity updating message comprises the first information correspondingto the user plane; and receiving, by the user plane from the controlplane, a capacity updating acknowledgement message or a capacityupdating failure message, wherein the first information corresponding tothe user plane includes: configuration information about a public landmobile network supported by the user plane; and configurationinformation about a network slice supported by the user plane.
 8. Acontrol plane device, comprising a processor and a memory; wherein theprocessor is configured to execute a connection program stored in thememory to implement the following steps: transmitting a request messagefor establishing a connection to a user plane device, wherein therequest message comprises first information corresponding to the controlplane device; and receiving, from the user plane device, a responsemessage indicating that the connection has been successfullyestablished, wherein the response message comprises second informationcorresponding to the user plane device, the second informationincluding: configuration information about a public land mobile networksupported by the user plane device; and configuration information abouta network slice supported by the user plane device.
 9. The control planedevice of claim 8, wherein the first information corresponding to thecontrol plane device comprises: an identification (ID) of the controlplane device.
 10. The control plane device of claim 8, wherein theresponse message indicates that the connection fails to be established,the response message comprising third information of a reason why theconnection fails to be established.
 11. The control plane device ofclaim 8, wherein the second information corresponding to the user planedevice further comprises: information regarding whether duplicationbearer capacity is supported; information regarding whether split bearercapacity is supported; information regarding whether split bearercapacity of a secondary cell group is supported; type information ofsupported radio access technology; information regarding whether newradio packet data convergence protocol capacity is supported; andinformation regarding whether jumbo frame is supported.
 12. The controlplane device of claim 8, wherein the second information corresponding tothe user plane device further comprises: bandwidth information of theuser plane device; a maximum number of user equipment (UE) devicessupported by the user plane device; and a maximum number of distributedunits supported by the user plane device, the distributed unitscorresponding to the centralized unit.
 13. The control plane device ofclaim 12, the bandwidth information of the user plane device comprisesinformation about data rate and frequency band bandwidth supported bythe user plane device.
 14. A user plane device, comprising a processorand a memory; wherein the processor is configured to execute aconnection program stored in the memory to implement the followingsteps: transmitting a request message for establishing a connection to acontrol plane device, wherein the request message comprises firstinformation corresponding to the user plane device; receiving, from thecontrol plane device, a response message indicating that the connectionhas been successfully established, wherein the response messagecomprises second information corresponding to the control plane device,the second information including an identification (ID) of the controlplane device; transmitting a capacity updating message to the controlplane device, wherein the capacity updating message comprises the firstinformation corresponding to the user plane device; and receiving, fromthe control plane device, a capacity updating acknowledgement message ora capacity updating failure message, wherein the first informationcorresponding to the user plane device includes: configurationinformation about a public land mobile network supported by the userplane device; and configuration information about a network slicesupported by the user plane device.